"I count plates, not calories. Three a day." This simple principle has enabled oolala53, who turns 60 this week, lose 44 pounds over the last three and a half years. She's now back to what she weighed at her high school graduation. Please join me in congratulating her!

I never really had relationships before doing NoS. I had such a horrendous body image, I couldn't imagine being loveable at all. NoS changed everything about that. My body image, my idea of what constitutes a healthy "ideal" body - and it's no longer a supermodel - , my confidence, everything. So while my first relationship after starting NoS didn't work out for sheer incompatibility, this one is looking good so far Either way, NoS mended my most important relationship -that with myself.

MJ7910's recent testimonial, chronicling her struggles with anorexia, shows that No S can work both ways, guarding against both too much and too little -- further proof of its fundamental elegance and sanity, I like to think!

"Hey, what's the secret for a flat stomach?"... "I used to be like you, in highschool"... "How can you eat so much and stay thin?"... Find out the answer to these and other mysteries in chentegt's recently posted three-year testimonial (with pictures!).

Read magus71 inspiring account of how he used a combination of No S and kettlebells to help a soldier in his unit in Afghanistan lose 48 lbs and pass his physical fitness test. If moderate No S is powerful enough to get troops combat ready, we civilians have no business reaching for more extreme solutions.

You may have been following her progress in the facebook group, but now it's official: "herbsgirl" just posted a 70+ pound loss in her testimonial, along with many fascinating details as to how she pulled this off (including video!). Please join me in congratulating her!

Thereâ€™s nothing harder in diet than maintaining a significant loss. But â€œNicest of the Damnedâ€ has done it again â€” another year at 65 pounds down (with a toddler, no less!). Check out her â€œtestimonial" for more details.

Well, in spite of some erratic eating lately, I am finally there: I have lost 10% of my starting weight = 23 pounds since June 29, 2013. I lost most of it before November -- have spent the last months recovering from the holidays' 5 pound gain and then adjusting to a gluten free diet, following a surprise diagnosis of celiac disease.

After about 5 months of quite faithful compliance and four months of riding along with only one eye on the habit, I realize: I can't eat what I used to, I can't eat the quantity that I used to, I feel awful if I try, and I don't even want to! I am continuing to slowly but surely lose weight, enjoy my meals and lean on -- rest in -- the No S structure. The big test was when I had to change my diet radically. What a relief that No S conforms to any kind of food -- the habit still applies.

My big fear when I started was that at 62 I was too old and my metabolism was too slow for any real progress. Also that my bad habits were too entrenched to really change. Not so! I love this approach, love the support and caring on this board, and am very happy to have found my way here! Thanks, Reinhard, for sharing this gem so generously with all of us!

"The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective." -- El Fug

Congratulations, jw, and thank you for sharing this! I'm so happy you found No-s flexible enough to accommodate such a seemingly drastic change in your dietary needs. But most of all I'm impressed at how you weren't dissuaded from giving it a try and sticking to your guns even with so many impressive excuses at your disposal.

Newton and Leibniz independently invented calculus, and every once in a while someone independently discovers No-s (more or less). But not everyone who does this achieves meeshofalltrades' stunning results (down ~37 pounds, sustaining 2 years now, compelling before-and-durings).

No news is good news? Well, almost. If you're successfully maintaining on No S, no news is the best news there is -- though I do very much like to hear about it! Please join me in congratulating NoSRocks, who recently posted her second year of "no news," maintaining a 40 pound loss.

I stumbled across a mention of Reinhard's book on some other forum, so I bought a copy about a month and a half ago. I read it and it makes total sense to me. I adopted the method.

Although I already had very good eating habits, No S has helped me refine them even more.

I'm not overweight according to BMI charts, but as a result of following No S for a few weeks, I have lost a couple of vanity pounds ... and I am a post-menopausal woman. It's "impossible" for women my age to lose weight, according to conventional wisdom. Or if they do lose weight, it's because they are starving themselves (and losing vital muscle mass in the process).

I'm eating nutritious meals 3 times a day, I'm enjoying them because I am hungry at mealtimes, and because I am eating enough at meals I'm not tempted to snack. On weekends I allow myself a daily treat and generally keep eating the way I eat during the no-S days. It's totally working. I never feel deprived.

For years I've been a clean eater but my issue was snacking. It was fine for most of my adult life, but nutritious snacks can add pounds, as I discovered when my metabolism changed with menopause. I have always exercised, but I couldn't seem to lose the 5-10 pounds I gained. Now they're coming off. As I said, these are vanity pounds, but still, they were bothering me.

Another big thing was that I tweaked my meal times and started taking my meals to work with me. You cannot believe how much food even salad places like SweetGreen give you. I get up very early and I had been eating breakfast at 6 AM. Of course I was ravenous by 9 AM and would snack. After reading No S, I started having my green tea at 6 AM and taking my breakfast to work and eating at about 8 AM. That immediately killed the mid-morning snacking. I generally have lunch at around 12:30 (something I bring from home, plus a "dessert" of fruit or plain yogurt mixed with fruit and nuts). This further cut down on how much I was ingesting because I was packing my lunch myself. After I eat lunch, I always take a brief walk. Dinner is around 7 PM.

This plan is safe and sane. The simplicity of it is great. It works with any eating style--vegetarian, vegan, paleo, low-carb, what have you. It's the way we ate when I was growing up in the 60s--"no, you can't have a cookie, it will spoil your appetite" was a mantra around our house. Neither I nor my siblings were overweight and neither were our friends. Also, it puts the burden of responsibility where it belongs--with me.

...and in the meantime we have three more testimonials to report here:

#1. What if No-S "stops working?" DaveMC has just completed 5 years successfully adhering to No S. For the first four years, he lost or maintained. This last year he gained back some of his lost weight. His reaction? Well, read it yourself. I think you'll find it very encouraging.

#2. Eshano just celebrated her second year on No-s. She's down 12 kilos (over 26 pounds), no longer overweight, and more importantly "in a happy, healthy relationship not only romantically but ... with myself!" Please check out her testimonial linked to below for more tips on what worked, what was tough, and what else the no-s mindset of systematic moderation helped her with.

#3. Does No-S really get easier over time? It certainly has for "Little Lion," who is down 36 pounds and wrote this in her first yearly update: "It's gets easier the longer you go. I will never not follow this diet...Food has lost it's control over me and while I enjoy my S days and still need to focus on what I am eating when I am eating, I don't snack and I can easily turn down sweets on N days. All because of this diet." Please join me in congratulating her!

"I love No S for the peace of mind" writes tlingit in her first yearly checkin. She's down 10-12 pounds, but far more importantly, No-S helped her preserve a sense of stability through some very difficult times. No S is the opposite of the "emotional eating" so many of us do when things get tough. It's calming eating.

Vicki is now 6 years into practicing No-S. She's down "55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!" In particular, she values its "simple, livable structure without too much structure." She's now in her mid-50s, and that brings new challenges, but with No-S she's successfully meeting them. Please join me in congratulating Vicki and learning from her experience!

Long time No-esser and foundational contributor to this board, KCCC, has a beautiful update to her yearly check-in thread:

I cannot say enough about how No-S has changed my overall relationship with food. How can it be a 'diet' when I enjoy food so much more on it? Choosing thoughtfully, eating without 'a side order of guilt', and noticing food as a legitimate source of pleasure (in moderation) ... these things lead to a much saner approach to eating. And it has changed other areas of life as well - I can do a lot with the mental energy that used to go into food issues.

No-S+: One of the big selling points of no-s is its unobtrusiveness -- as evidenced by the fact that you can do it alongside many other diet plans, such as Diligence reports doing very successfully with whole30:

In 2008, "Blondie" posed for the cover of Woman's World magazine -- a very photogenic No-S success story. Now, seven years later, and with a one-year-old baby to boot, she's still on No-S, and still the same weight as when she did the photoshoot. Please join me in congratulating her -- and check out the full story.

GraceW almost forgot to post her 4 year No S Diet testimonial -- not because it hasn't made a big difference in her life, but because it's been so successful, she has a hard time remembering she's even on it.
"I don't check into this forum much anymore, but I consider that a testimonial to how natural No S is. I don't think about it much anymore! It's been interesting reading my old posts here and seeing what I struggled with in the past...Brian Wansink said that the best diet is the one you don't know you're on. SO true.
If you're struggling with No S, keep at it. It's SO worth it, not only for your body, but your peace of mind. The simple rules leave brain space for the more important things in your life. You may fail (I did, repeatedly), but it WILL become a habit if you keep trying!"

I started No S 2 years and 4 months ago. Today, I hit the 10-pound weight loss mark. VERY slow, but sure! I was 50 years old when I started, and had steadily gained weight from age 38 to age 50, with no seeming way to control it. Even though my weight loss is slow, I'm very happy with it. At the rate I was gaining, I would have been 22 pounds heavier than I am today. And today, a special day, I will still eat only 3 meals, but the TG meal will be a very full plate which includes pie! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Please join me in congratulating Joasia, who has just reported some very impressive accomplishments in the "before and during" forum: 9 years on habit, over 90 pounds down, and compelling photographic evidence!

"My weight remains within the normal range, I am at peace with food, and NoS gives me the framework of sanity I need to live life without having to give food more attention than it deserves" -- so writes elegantportions, in her 2nd year No-S testimonial. She's 25 pounds down, at a normal BMI, and the proud mom of a new foster baby. Please join me in congratulating her all around!

Today marks my 1-year anniversary of being on the No-S Diet. My scale shows only a few pounds of weight loss, but that doesn't tell the whole story... No-S has done wonderful things for my mindset around eating and helped me to discover a strength I didn't know I had before. I can't control a lot of things in life, but I can control when I eat and how much.

So writes ceo418 in her first yearly checkin (among many other thoughtful things). Please join me in learning from and congratulating her!

This diet has been an absolute lifesaver for me. After years of chronic dieting starting at age 10 (I'm 47), my relationship with food & my body was extremely unhealthy. I was on a different diet plan every week. I'd go from under eating to overeating and food & weightloss was all I thought about from morning till night. NoS magically transformed my relationship with food by putting food back to its rightful place (meals).
It's not a quick fix weightloss program but I did eventually lose 40 lbs. I really didn't believe I could lose weight anymore so this has been astonishing in itself. Still the best part of NoS for me has been the peace it's given me with food. No more constant obsessing and when you can see very clearly you're not overeating, it's a big boost to your confidence level even before you lose a single pound.

Oh yes that's me! All 100% true. The other day I realized that in all this time I never wrote a NoS Amazon review which is crazy considering how much time I spend both on Amazon as well as this board.

One of these days I'll get around to writing my testimonial on here but seems pretty redundant I guess considering I've got pretty much my entire life written on my daily check-in. Still I should at some point! &#128522;

Glad you saw it Reinhard and so grateful to you for your terrific concept and these boards of course.

chentegt has been No-essing for 5 years now. Most of that has been maintenance -- he got where he wanted to be weight-wise rather quickly, but as we know here "maintenance is more important than progress."

He also noticed something funny along the way -- with every major life change (most recently, becoming a father) people assure him that now it would be different and he would get fat. Well, he's steadfastly defied the augurs, and is as lean and strong as ever, as you can read in his wise and amusing yearly checkin:

"Maintenance is more important than progress." It's a core maxim around these parts. But how true is it? Let Kittson, who was a healthy weight to start with and has been happily maintaining on No-S for a year now, count the ways:
1. The debate over food is gone. "Should I/Shouldn't I eat this" and "BUT I WANT IT" don't happen anymore. That makes me feel so much peace.
2. Hunger isn't going to hurt me. It's normal to be hungry for meal time.
3. Food is being enjoyed again. I don't dread what food does for me, I enjoy how it makes me feel, because on N days I'm never over full.
4. Negative self-talk is quiet unless I “overdo” an S day.
5. I’m not punishing my overeating with exercise because there isn’t any overeating.
6. I now use mild exercise, it’s what my body likes. T-Tapp and walking. Anything more intense it affects my sleep and energy levels.
7. I’ve become an audioaddict - I’ve listened to over 30 audio books in the past year. Every Jane Austen novel, 3 Outlander novels, most of the Anne of Green Gables series, and many many more. I am so thankful for finally taking the time to listen to these, they’ve brought such joy to my life.
8. My relationships are better. Husband is benefitting immensely from the lack of my negative self-talk. I FEEL good = better self image/no negative self-talk = transferring my good feelings to others.
9. I feel more present with my son. Huge for me!
10. I am saving money. No Snacking means my grocery bill has been cut by 2 mini-meals per day.
11. Good habits are transferring to others - just a few weeks ago my husband finally got on board. I didn’t push him, that never works. I actually didn’t even tell him I was doing No S until after a month or so into starting. He sees that it works.
12. I have feelings of gratitude when I eat. I have never been one to be thankful for food. It’s easy for me to acquire, easy to come by. Now that I am hungry for meals I am very thankful for the meal I am getting.
More wisdom from Kittson here:

We already discussed it in passing last week, but here's my "official" notice of Oolala's tremendous achievement (we've been getting so many testimonials/yearly updates recently I've been getting nervous about overwhelming the facebook feed!):

"I just want to emphasize that No S has been instrumental in my weaning myself off 'extra' food. I've continued to learn that I can very comfortably eat less often and, over time, less food but higher quality food. This continues to evolve. Others might think I am being 'so good,' but it just feels like less trouble than grappling with the mental and physical fallout of NOT doing it." -- so writes No S Veteran oolala53 in her most recent yearly check-in. And at six years on habit, 48 pounds down, 8 BMI points down, and -26% of her starting body weight, she knows whereof she speaks. Please join me in learning more and congratulating her at the full posting:

Please join me in congratulating 1984man, who now not only has 5 years of No-s practice under his (significantly looser) belt, but has joined the proud ranks of the "I've lost more than Reinhard on the No S diet" club.

Being a doctor you would automatically look for a diet that makes sense in a physiological way. And you would easily end up in the trap of producing something that is not applicable in real life in the long run, because you left out emotions, social situations, problems with will power and so on. Choosing a behavioral approach solves all these problems. And in my view it is a piece of genius. Einstein said you cannot solve problems on the level they appeared on but have to find a solution on another level ... This is what the No S Diet does.

The BIGGEST thing that the No S system has given me is CALMNESS and SANITY in my relationship with food. I went from being a 3 meals and 3 snacks-a-day person, to being a 3 meals and 0 snacks-a-day person in the first two weeks of No S! And I didn't die! Amazing!

My weight has gone down on No S without me even trying - I've enjoyed reckless S days and abundant N days. I have even been able to slacken the reins and participate in social events on special S days when it seemed important. I can now actually make a decision as to whether eating a piece of cake is socially necessary or not. Rather than just eating the cake because everyone else is, and because it's in front of me.

I no longer feel powerless!

She's also gotten a lot of mileage out of the habitcal, which was very gratifying to see.

What I've actually used is the much less exciting method of eating a little bit less and exercising a little bit more, while following vanilla NoS (no extra special constraints beyond what's on the cover of the book).

Anna writes: "18 months on No-S. Before, January 2015. During, June 2016. Currently at 20 pounds lost from highest weight. I have 5 pounds to normal BMI. My hip-waist ratio measured at the healthy range this morning. All other health measures are in tip-top shape. Formerly Hashimoto's, no medication, thyroid running fine.
Vanilla No-S, with added sprinkles of a compatible religious structure (Orthodox Christian, with periods of fasting from animal products). I will check-in again once I achieve a normal BMI."

Pics and more details in the facebook group post (sign up if you haven't already!):

"Diet head" afflicts even the fit and trim. And it can be just as destructive (if less visibly). Hard-core athlete Spiritualmalady just posted a very thoughtful testimonial about how No S helped her banish "diet head" and find the path of moderation between excess and punitive deprivation. The result? Not so much (unnecessary) pounds lost as sanity and peace of mind gained (also worth something!). That No S works both ways like this, for folks who eat too much, and for forks who eat too little (and, especially, for folks who vacillate between the two) seems to me further confirmation of its fundamental elegance and sanity.

I've been No S for about a year now and have lost about 15 lbs. I probably would have lost more if I hadn't fallen off the wagon due to stress when we were selling and buying a house. I've done diets before with little success. This works for me and doesn't feel like a diet. The weight loss has been slow, but I'm okay with it because it's sustainable.

I've been No S-ing for a year, and this is my first post. No S has been a wonderful experience so far. Thank you, Reinhard, for sharing this amazing Everyday System with the world.

I went through a really stressful period a few years ago, and my favorite coping mechanism (snacking) led to 10 pounds of weight gain. It doesn't sound like a lot of weight, but 10 pounds is substantial on a small, short frame. I am all of the things that a past thread identified as resistant to weight loss: middle aged, female, not tall, and not in need of losing a lot of weight. I absolutely could not get the 10 pounds to come off. Being active, eating less, none of it worked. I white-knuckled it through South Beach, but could only lose 5 pounds before regaining it in a carb frenzy.

I was terrified of trying No S because I've been a lifelong permasnacker, and had even self-diagnosed "hypoglycemia." I was convinced that I would have migraines or faint if I went a day without snacks (really). No S sounded so sane, though, I felt I needed to give it a try. I started No S on a Thursday so I could minimize the distance to the first weekend (and weekend snacks, of course). That first day, I lined up painkillers, chicken broth, and juice for my expected blood sugar meltdown. I also ate enormous meals. Amazingly, nothing bad happened and I didn't have the slightest headache. Imagine: this was the first day of my life--apart from infancy and a hospital stay that required an IV drip--with no snacks! The next day was exactly the same, and then the weekend came right when I needed it.

It's been a year, and I've not only lost the 10 pounds, but 5 more that I was really not anticipating losing. I am now at my high school weight, and am regretting having gotten rid of my clothes from then, given that the 80s and 90s are back in style. I'm thrilled with my weight, and with No S as an eating philosophy. I'll keep it up and update again next year. Happy holidays!

Congratulations, Nibbler! And sorry I didn't see this till now. (I'm in the middle of a job transition and more than usually distracted -- back to working in libraries again, come January!).

Love the details -- and fascinating to see how the term "permasnacking" keeps resonating with people. I think people have positive associations with "snacking" thanks to all the ongoing indoctrination campaign of the wellness-industrial complex, but when they hear "permasnacking" there's a moment of shocked recognition that "yes, that is what I am doing, and no it is not good!"

reinhard wrote:Congratulations, Nibbler! And sorry I didn't see this till now. (I'm in the middle of a job transition and more than usually distracted -- back to working in libraries again, come January!).

I hope the transition goes well!

Homeschool Mom and No S returnee as of 11-30-15.
2 years and counting on No-S.
29 lbs. down, 34 to go. Slow and steady wins the race.
Respect Moderation

tlingit just posted a very thoughtful testimonial describing a successful first year on no-s.

Sure, some weight was lost (10 pounds), but what really impressed me was how tlingit put No S more in the company of yoga and meditation than traditional "diets," and I think that's altogether appropriate.

On one level, No S is a form of re-ritualized eating, with a zen-minimalist aesthetic.

It's not surprise that it can be calming and grounding, apart from its direct physiological effects.

Please take a look at the full post liked to below -- you may be inspired to thank tlingit as well as to congratulate!

I have been telling everyone about this - but I found no one seems to really believes it can work to start with. There seems to be a disbelief that you can eat 'normally' and lose weight! They only starting to be interested once I had lost about half a stone and they could notice the change in me.

It is funny, this disbelief in the sufficiency of "normal" eating to keep us healthy and fit, as if thousands of generations of our ancestors didn't manage to do this, as if health and fitness were some new invention, only to be achieved by protein powders and ketogenic somersaults. The sad truth is our society is so far from normal eating that these outlandish cures seem no more outlandish than our new status quo of permasnacking on well-marketed junk. Increasingly, it's hard to even tell the difference between the cure and the disease, they all seem to involve constant nibbling on stuff that comes out of brightly colored packages.

I think about this when I read of proponents of eating less often than three meals. They'll imply that most people are doing that and could stand to cut down to two. I'm thinking, where have these people been? Who the heck (but us and a few other outliers) are eating only three times a day?

Onwards.

Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 9 years & counting
Age 65
SBMI Jan/10-30.8
Jan/12-26.8
Mar/13-24.9 Stayed at +/- 8-lb. for three years Sept/17 22.8 (but more fluctuation)
Mar/18 22.2

Thanks, Reinhard, for bringing Tlingit's and LouMay's posts to everyone's attention. They both make great points.

I think No S is a really great program and the best thing to me is that it is NORMAL. I grew up eating this way, my parents ate this way, and people all over the world still eat this way. Following the No S guidelines is quite painless, it does not call attention to itself and is adaptable to any kind of dietary regimen (vegetarian/vegan, paleo, kosher, what have you).

Other programs can really exacerbate people's issues with food, what with the endless lists of things you can never eat, or directives about how many meals you can eat and when, etc. At some exercise/diet forums I lurk on, the talk is all about intermittent fasting, limiting the number of meals eaten, etc. How can that possibly be sustained?

Put "maintenance and sanity" first, and you get weight loss as a bonus. Put weight loss first, and long term, you get neither.

I don't know if this is always true, but it certainly appears to hold in the case of Kaalii, who started No-S for "maintenance and sanity," and lost weight and significant body fat in the bargain. She also reports important extra-dietary benefits from the increased headspace the Zen of No S has given her.

I may never get around to writing a testimonial so I will just let this pass as one for now. I certainly am not a "perfect" NoSer, but I couldn't be a longterm "perfect" dieter either. At least now I have manageable boundaries and a way to live with my "disability." I am 71 years old and have been fighting overeating since a teenager. Finally, I am not fighting any more. Here is the cut and paste from a recent post that some have found helpful.

What I have learned in nearly 10 years on this journey:

There seem to be discussions regularly about motivation and whether to think of NoS as a weight loss plan. Here are my thoughts:

1. Most people will not lose and keep off weight with the only motivation being to lose weight. Health scares will sometimes do it, but not always. I think you have to decide that you really don't like the way you are living and the relationship you have with food. You may be tired of bingeing, dieting up and down or you may just be tired of getting bigger and bigger. I know I feel better about myself when I am lighter and not being controlled by food. Mistakes I have made in the past have been to have a number in my head that was what I needed to weigh or a clothing size to aim for, and when I was younger they were totally unrealistic for my body type. NoS allows your body to find its own appropriate weight and size as you learn to eat in a way that most people have followed in trim cultures for generations.

2. Yes you have to eat fewer calories to get to a healthy size. The good news is that NoS takes care of that automatically as you incorporate the rules. I had to learn to wait until the next meal to eat instead of snacking. I had to learn to stop after one plate. This meant changing lots of habits. No more eating over the sink or in the car or cleaning off children's plates or nibbling while cooking. The rules are simple, but I had to unlearn many habits.

3. Then there is the No Sweets rule. Waiting until an S Day to have a sweet treat is tough if you have been used to daily treats. And most of us are not able to eat just "one." I have had to impose a no sweets in private rule for S Days because I can put away an entire recipe by "evening out the pan."

4. So if we are eating 3 plates without snacking or seconds and are limiting sweets to S Days, our calorie intake will be obviously less than before. If we are not losing then I think the binge problem still has to be addressed. For some of us even after getting N Days within the boundaries, the S Days had to be tackled. At first, I would plan all week long what I was going to buy or bake (still food obsessed) and then of course, I would overdo it. The S Days gone wild problem! It is a success not to be out of control all week, but 2 days of excess will actually cause me to gain and undo whatever I lost during the week and it is depressing. When the N days are consistently under control, then S days need to be addressed. I had to be reminded that it is "except on S Days SOMETIMES" and also I made a rule not to eat trigger foods in private.

5. The final obstacle for me to overcome was what actually went on my plates. I had to learn how much to eat to get me to the next meal. And then the time came to back off on the caloric density if I wanted to eat healthier or lose those last pounds.

6. I summary, I want to encourage all the new folks to be patient with themselves. There are many habits to replace, and I wasn't successful with all of them at once. Even though there may be failures and no weight loss at times, as well as regressions, there are still many successes as we go through the process. Just think of all those changes being made. Those successes are what will carry us into maintaining weight loss, and the rest of our lives we can have a healthy relationship with food.